WHEN Dr Thuan D Bui launched his biotech start-up here five years ago, it wasn’t just funding concerns he had to grapple with: He also had to find foreign companies he could work with. . Today, Dr Thuan can just tap into BioSingapore, a trade association for individuals and companies with an interest in the local biosciences industry. . “Had there been an organisation like BioSingapore then, my company would have been able to grow exponentially instead of linearly from the time it started,” said Dr Thuan, a British-Vietnamese molecular biologist lured to Singapore in 1998 by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star). . His main problem had been having to contact overseas companies one by one for collaborations. . Dr Steven Fang, chairman of BioSingapore, told Today that networking is one of the biggest challenges facing biotech companies — which is why the association’s network comes in handy. . The association also aims to educate investors. After all, not all companies are like i-DNA Biotechnology, which broke even in two to three months. . Most biotech firms involved in research need an incubation period of about 10 years before seeing profits — one major reason why Singapore investors are generally not eager to invest. . And, as such companies do not generate cashflow right away, they are not able to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to raise funds. As a result, some, such as Rockeby Biomed, list on the Australian Stock Exchange. . BioSingapore intends to hold talks with the SGX on this issue. It hopes to put five member companies on the board.
